Global Voices » India

Promises of Social Justice for India's Landless

Andrew Kowalczuk — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:32:18 +0000

As rapid industrialization and development in India snatches up land and livelihoods and the government grapples with a legal framework to deal with the displaced, activist groups such as Ekta Parishad have loudly campaigned on behalf of the landless and homeless.

The group, whose name means “forum of unity” in Hindi, met with Indian Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on 15 April, 2013 to affirm an earlier agreement the two parties had made in October 2012 after Ekta Parishad staged a massive protest march.

That agreement promised to create a task force to shape reform that would ensure the agricultural land and homestead rights of the landless and the homeless and provide legal aid for the most vulnerable.

India is currently considering a bill that would “provide just and fair compensation to the affected families whose land has been acquired [..] and make adequate provisions for such affected persons,” but but Ekta Parishad is fighting for land rights for those people who do not traditionally own land but whose life and livelihood are highly dependent on it.

The transfer of India's important natural resources to industrial investors, both Indian and foreign, fueled rampant growth in recent years. Local populations, of whom 70 percent still live in rural areas today and who are dependent on natural resources for their survival, were often displaced by land grabs, made without any compensation.

The most impoverished people in India, the Dalits and Adivasis, especially women, are not only forgotten, but are also the main victims of this development.

In February 2013, the National Dalit and Adavasi Women's Congress was cited in a recent blog article by Sujatha Surepally, which also denounces this sad reality:

The hall is echoing with the furious voice of Dayamani Barla, veteran Adivasi activist from Jharkhand. She is trying to unite people against mining in Jharkhand, around 108 mining companies are waiting to destroy Adivasi life in the name of mining, first they come for coal, next they say power houses, it continues, we are pushed out and out further. How do we live without our land? Spectacular speech for an hour, pin drop silence all around, everyone is identifying with her pain and agony. At the end of it, what is she is trying to convey? Humko Jeene Do! Let us live our own life! If this is called development, we care a damn about it!

Marches for Justice

Given the 60 million people who were displaced without compensation between 1947 and 2004, and the 25 million hectares of land requisitioned, activists from Ekta Parishad organized Janadesh - the “people's verdict”, in 2007, which was a month-long march of 25,000 people from the city of Gwalior to the national capital, Delhi, to demand rights for the landless. These videos describe Janadesh [fr] and its Indian and international support [fr]:

These grievances were heard, and resulted in laws such as the “Forest Rights Act“. Subrat Kumar Sahu commented in an online article in April 2010 about the law :

The Bill stated: “For the first time in the history of Indian forests, the state formally admits that, for long, rights have been denied to forest-dwelling people, and the new forest law attempts not only to right that ‘historic injustice’ but also give forest communities’ role primacy in future forest management.” Forest-dependent communities that were being pushed deeper and deeper into what remained of the forests were pleasantly surprised by the passage of FRA 2006, although forest-rights activists were cynical about the state’s intentions. Many called the Bill “a paper tiger”, like so many other pieces of legislation in India.

Despite these progressive laws, few achievements have been effectively realized since they were passed. This led Ekta Parishad and more than 2,000 other organizations to organize in October 2012 the Jan Satyagraha, or the March for Justice, again from Gwalior to Delhi, which was attended by 50,000 people on its first day.

The video below, subtitled in French, “Act or Die,” summarizes the alternatives for these people:

According to the blog Rexistance Inde [fr]:

Difficile de dénombrer les marcheurs, mais il faut compter presque cinq heures pour voir défiler l'ensemble du cortège. (…) Nous traversons (…) quelques villages où les gens accueillent la Marche avec des colliers et des jets de pétales de fleurs jaunes et orange.

It was difficult to count the number of marchers, but it took almost five hours to watch the passing of the entire procession (…) We passed through (…) some villages where people welcomed the March with necklaces of yellow and orange flowers, and by throwing flower petals.

The Jan Satyagraha march passes over the river Chambal, on 6 October, 2012. Photo credit Goran Basic / Ekta Parishad with permission ( sent via email)

Promises to keep

The petitions of 2007, which had focused on landless rural people, were this time expanded to include the homeless, the effective application of laws against poverty, the technical means for such application, and finally, a precise timetable for the fulfillment of these promises. The summation of these demands was written in the 10-point agreement between the marchers and the Indian Government [fr] on 11 October, 2012, and was confirmed by a new meeting between the authorities and the marchers in April 2013.

The blog Rexistance Inde [fr] stated in an article on 31 December, 2012:

Le gouvernement fédéral s'engage à plancher sur une politique de réformes agraires et à faire pression auprès des gouvernements locaux – l'allocation de terres étant leur prérogative – pour permettre aux populations marginalisées de rester sur leurs terres, ou d'en obtenir de nouvelles pour y travailler. Et pour y vivre ! Car l'une des clauses centrales, et nouvelles, de l'engagement consiste à inclure le droit au logement pour chaque famille pauvre et sans terre. [...] Mais Ekta Parishad n'est pas naïf. Au contraire, fort de l'expérience de la Janadesh en 2007 dont le peu de promesses obtenues n'avait pas vraiment été tenues, le mouvement reste vigilant, à tel point qu'il lance dans la foulée de la signature de l'accord un appel à soutien international pour signifier au gouvernement que les “invisibles” ne le lâcheront pas d'une semelle, et que l'œil de la conscience citoyenne veille, partout dans le monde.

The federal government is starting a campaign of agrarian political reforms, and to put pressure on local governments – since the allocation of land is their prerogative – to allow marginalized populations to remain on their land, or to find new land where they can work. And where they can live ! Since one of the new, and central, clauses of the agreement consists of the inclusion of a right to housing for each poor and landless family [...] But Ekta Parishad is not naive. On the contrary, given the experience from Janadesh in 2007, from which few of the promises obtained have truly been kept, the movement remains vigilant. To the point that, in the wake of the signing of the agreement, it launched an appeal for international support, to signal to the government that the “invisibles” will not retreat an inch, and that the eyes of civic consciousness are watching, throughout the world.

The support initiatives, at the Indian, European and international levels, were also redoubled during recent months, to ensure that the agreement will be respected by the Indian government, as stated in a collective letter sent to Minister Jairam Ramesh, thanking him for his actions since the beginning of the year on behalf of the most impoverished, but also encouraging him not to turn back from such a promising path.

Hope and caution

The agreement reached between Ekta Parishad and the Indian government may well represent the promise of a new paradigm for development and distribution of natural resources within India and perhaps elsewhere. On the eve of general elections in India, it is time for mobilization and hope, but equally well for caution.

V. Rajagopal, President of Ekta Parishad, confirmed that the movement intends to make its voice heard clearly during the electoral campaign which is now beginning in India, in an online article on Firstpost India, on 12 April, 2013:

2014 is an election year, and all political parties are drafting their manifestos. And our effort is to make land reform figure prominently in their manifestos. We are talking to different political parties. And keeping the next election in mind, we have come up with a slogan – Aage zameen peeche vote, nahi zameen toh nahi vote (first land, then vote; no land, no vote).

Indian Army is now on Facebook

Rezwan — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:52:12 +0000

Prasant Naidu at Lighthouse Insights reports that after a successful start on Twitter, the Indian Army has recently joined Facebook. This is a welcome move as last year the Indian Army had issued orders asking all personnel — both officers and other ranks — to stop using social networking sites like Facebook or Orkut.

Are Indian Companies “Land Grabbing” in Africa?

Ayesha Saldanha — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:42:44 +0000

As foreign companies and governments buy or lease land in countries across Africa, the debate continues as to whether this will encourage development or is simply land grabbing, which displaces local populations and threatens food security.

The Hindu's Addis Ababa correspondent Aman Sethi (@Amannama) has recently written about Indian companies’ involvement in Ethiopia and Mali, and on 19 May he took part in a Q&A session on Facebook on the issue of so-called Indian land grabs in African countries.

Susanna Myrtle Lazarus asked:

What is the purpose of land grabs in Africa? Is it for the property value or just for resources like water etc?

Aman Sethi noted that the term “land grab” is disputed:

Well that's an interesting question: the jury is still out on the whole question of “land grab”. The UN, for instance, has come up with a set of guidelines on land investment. Host countries tend to lease out land, rather than sell it, so it isn't usually about property value because the lessor company cannot sell the land. Investments are invariably for the resources then – so it could be minerals, it could be timber, it could be soil and water to grow crops. The big question of course is – are host countries getting enough back in return for leasing out land and (often) displacing people?

Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Managing Director of Karuturi Global Ltd., Gambella, Ethiopia. Photo by Flickr user Planète à vendre (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Jayakarthik Sabarathnam's question was:

Don't you think Africa's land problems are a result of confusion over who owns the land, whether it is an individual or the government, since individuals have been staying on government land under the assumption that they are the owners whereas the government considers the land as its own?

Sethi answered:

I think this is a key and crucial point – that in at least two countries that I wrote about – Ethiopia and Mali – there is significant confusion over land titles. In Ethiopia for instance, all land is owned by the state and is leased out to private individuals and companies. In places like Gambella – as I mention in the second part of the story – communities often have pre-existing communal claims on the land, which are not acknowledged by the state. This creates a serious problem. The Ethiopian government believes that the Commune Development programme – or villagization – will actually streamline the process of land use by giving land titles to the people who are resettled under the scheme. However, this will of course involve a radical change in the way the community conceives of land.

Roybath Mylaks wanted to know if Indian investment actually helped to increase local skills:

Are Indian companies adding to capacity building of locals there? Do they hire locally or bring in workers from India?

Aman Sethi replied:

On labour – the Ethiopian government is very clear that they want companies to train local workers. Last year, I wrote about how liquor Baron Ponty Chadha had come up with a plan to bring farmers from Punjab to Ethiopia – but the plan was shot down by the government. Most governments allow companies to bring in highly skilled technicians and managers, but try to get companies to train people to become machine operators etc.

Samiksha Srivastava's question was along the same lines:

Don't you think Indian-owned companies are enhancing the development there?

Sethi didn't think there was a simple answer to that, and referred to the controversy surrounding Indian company Karuturi Global, which has been heavily criticised for its operations in Ethiopia:

Well, I think that a lot of developing countries are still figuring out what development really means to them – what path should they take, what resources should they allocate, what should be the role of the state and the market? Thus, I think that Indian companies have become a part of this debate by participating in these developing economies. Many in Ethiopia are unhappy with the fact that a foreign company has acquired such large amounts of land – while others believe that companies like Karuturi will help the country earn foreign exchange – so the debate is wide open right now.

Pranay Sinha asked:

Do you think the government needs to put in place some minimum standards for corporates operating abroad so that locals are not abused in the process of these investments, or should it be a self-restricting corporate code of conduct?

Referring again to Karuturi Global, Aman Sethi responded:

Well, I think most governments have legal frameworks to safeguard the rights of project-affected communities – however, many (much like in India) cannot effectively monitor these companies. In Karuturi's case for instance, no laws have been broken – but there seems to be a structural problem with the way the project was conceived – so I think we probably need to think beyond a legal regime and perhaps begin by trying to understand these processes as best we can. It's easy to say “neocolonial land grab” and end the discussion – but that doesn't help our understanding of the world – rather it restricts engagement because the discussion is effectively over.

No Women In Pubs In Andhra After 10 PM

Rezwan — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:46:32 +0000

Does the absence of women in public spaces makes these spaces safer for women?

The above comment is made by the blogger at The Life and Times of an Indian Homemaker, who is outraged by the decision of the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, to ban women from pubs after 10 pm claiming that it would keep them safe.

Muslim TV Anchor Faces Backlash in India Over ‘Uncivilized’ Veil Comment

Inji Pennu — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:25:48 +0000

A female anchor for a popular Malayalam-language television channel in the southern Indian state of Kerala is facing a firestorm of criticism after she called the Muslim practice of women wearing a veil “uncivilized” and a form of oppression.

Fousiya Musthafa, a Muslim woman herself, talked about the general plight of Muslim women on an India Vision TV program on April 9, 2013 saying the purdah, or practice of veiling and segregation of the sexes, is oppressive, especially for women who have been married living their lives like widows as their husbands are away from home working in the Middle East. She added:

Even with all the modern facilities, in this hot summer here, these women have to wear the uncivilized purdah.

About a quarter of the population in Kerala are Muslim and more than half are Hindu. The editor for India Vision has issued a hazy explanation that there was a misunderstanding with the script, with the editorial board overlooking some unnecessary lines in it.

A group of Muslim women rallying with placard in Kerala. Image by Aji Jayachandran. Copyright Demotix (8/12/2011)

Muslim women in Kerala, who claims the highest literacy rate among other Muslim women in India, began to wear a veil only recently. Some 20 years ago, even though the dress of Muslim women had differences in color and method from other religious groups, it never was an all-covering purdah. Some observe that the influx of Kerala workers into the Middle East on their return has influenced this rise in purdah as a fashion wear in Kerala. Also, famous Kerala writer and poet Kamala Surayya's conversion to Islam during her later years and praise for the purdah may have given the veil a boost in popularity.

However, the rising trend has been met with resistance from some quarters of Kerala's Muslim women who did not want to adhere to such dress codes. Jameela K, mathematics teacher at Sullamussalam Oriental High School in Malappuram district was suspended because she refused to wear the purdah or the green overcoat as prescribed by the school.

And aeronautical engineer Reihana Kazi sought out protection from the court after some of her relatives pleas for her to wear the purdah escalated to death threats.

After Fousia Musthafa's declarations on the veil, Facebook was flooded with virulent comments and posts against her, attacking her with expletives and verbally assaulting her. An Facebook post supporting purdah was written showering the journalist with verbal abuse and defaming her character, which was shared by 1,986 users.

Sreeja Neyyattinkara protests [mal] against such attacks:

ഒരു കാര്യം അതു തെറ്റായാലും ശരിയായാലും ഒരു പെണ്ണ് പറഞ്ഞു അങ്ങനെ പറയുന്നവരെ ഇങ്ങനെ തെറിയഭിഷേകം നടത്താന് ഏത് പ്രവാചകനാണ് നിങ്ങളെ പഠിപ്പിച്ചത്

Even if something is right or wrong, just because a woman said it, did any prophet give you the right to abuse her?

Latheef Arinjira [mal] who shared the same post that has attacked the journalist pleads support:

sahodara vayikkuka…thalkalika labathin vendi samudayathinte acharangale publicil avahelicha indiavisioneyum athile curspondenna chettayekkethireyum prathshedikkuka

dear brother, please read this post. For temporary benefits our culture has been tarnished by this channel (India Vision). Please protest against this.

Most of the comments on FB were pure vitriol and cannot be reprinted. But, there were lone voices too defending purdah which took a more objective approach towards the issue,

Ahmed Niyaz writes as a comment [mal] pertaining to a discussion of the same issue in G+:

ഹിജാബ് മുസ്ലിം സ്ത്രീയുടെ സംസ്കാരമാണ്, കേരളത്തിലെ മതബോധമുള്ള മുസ്ലിംകള് തലമറച്ചിരുന്നു. കേരളത്തിലെ മുസ്ലിംകള് സാംസ്കാരികമായി കൂടുതലായി മതവല്കരിക്കപ്പെട്ടത് ഈയടുത്താണെന്നത് യാഥാര്ത്യമാണ്, പക്ഷേ അതൊക്കെ ഭരണഘടനയുടെ ഉള്ളിലുള്ള കാര്യം മാത്രമാണ്. രണ്ട് ജോടി വസ്ത്രം മാത്രമുള്ള അവസ്ഥയില് നിന്ന് വസ്ത്രത്തിന്റെ ആര്ഭാടത്തിലേക്ക് വന്നിട്ടും അധികമായിട്ടില്ല.

മാറ് മറക്കാനവകാശമില്ലായ്മയില് നിന്ന് ജീന്സും ടോപിലുമെത്തിനില്ക്കുന്ന ഇതര സ്തീകളുടെ ചോയ്സിലിടപെടാനവകാശമില്ലാത്തത് പോലെ ഇതിലും ഇടപെടാനവകാശമില്ല.

പര്ദ്ദാവിരുദ്ധരുടെ ആത്മാര്ത്ഥതയില് സംശയമുള്ളത് കൊണ്ടാണ് അസഹിഷ്ണുത കാണിക്കേണ്ടി വരുന്നത്.

Hijab is just the culture of a Muslim women. In earlier Kerala Muslim believers used to cover their heads. Its true that purdah is new and Kerala Muslims are trending more towards Islamic icons and cultures. But its within the constitution. From two pairs of clothes, we have now come to a point of many choices.
Once women in Kerala couldn’t cover their upper torso and now they have reached a point of wearing jeans. Just like that, we cannot manipulate a women’s choices of wearing a jeans or purdah too. The sincerity of the anti-purdah supporters is very dubious and maybe that’s why believers are suspicious of the intentions and hence virulent.

But Shahina Nafeesa, [mal] a Muslim journalist in Kerala, challenged the notion of choice which is usually espoused by Muslim men and women alike for wearing purdah:

ആരെങ്കിലുമൊക്കെ പർദ്ദ ധരിക്കുന്നതിൽ എനിക്ക് പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് വിഷമമോ സന്തോഷമോ ഇല്ല .പർദ്ദ ധരിക്കാനുള്ള സ്ത്രീകളുടെ ‘ചോയിസിനു വേണ്ടി പോരാടുന്നവരെ കണ്ടു ,നല്ല കാര്യം .എനിക്കും ഒരു ചോയിസ് ഉണ്ട് .എനിക്ക് പർദ്ദ ധരിക്കാൻ ഇഷ്ടമല്ല.ചൊമല ഷോട്സും ലൈറ്റ് മഞ്ഞ ടീ ഷർട്ടും ആണ് എന്റെ ചോയിസ് .എല്ലവരും വരി വരിയായി വന്നു എന്റെ ചോയിസിനെ സപ്പോർട്ട് ചെയ്താട്ടേ

I don't have any issues if someone is wearing a purdah or not. I wont be happy or sad. I am noticing many supporting the “choice” of women wearing purdah. Good. I too have a choice. I don't like to wear purdah. My choice is to wear a yellow tee and a red shorts. Please come and support my choice too.

Another FB post from Rejesh O Positive questioned [mal] where exactly is the choice in wearing religious attire:

സ്ത്രീകള് എന്തുധരിക്കണം എന്തുധരിക്കരുത് എന്നൊക്കെ നിർദേശിക്കുന്ന മതങ്ങൾക്കുള്ളിൽ. അവർ ചെയ്യുന്നത് അവരുടെ ഇഷ്ടമാണ് എന്ന് പറയുന്നത്. ജയിലിൽ കഴിയുന്നവർ ജയിൽ അധികൃതർ വരുമ്പോൾ മുണ്ട് ‘മടക്കികുത്ത്’ അഴിക്കുന്നതും , തോളിൽ കിടക്കുന്ന തോർത്ത് കയിൽ എടുത്തു പിടിക്കുന്നതും സ്വന്തം ഇഷ്ടപ്രകാരം ആണെന്ന് പറയുനതിന് തുല്യമാണ്.

If someone is telling women that they have choices for clothing inside their religion, it's like telling people inside a jail that they have choices when it comes to wearing the clothing endorsed by the jail authorities.

In the Quran, it would appear that the Prophet had foreseen all this controversy:

After my disappearance there will be no greater source of chaos and disorder for my nation than women.

It's true, considering the recent debate surrounding religious morals and women. Europe and the rest of the world is still smarting from feminist group FEMEN's fiery “International Topless Jihad Day” to raise awareness about Amina Tyler, a 19-year-old FEMEN member who sparked a massive uproar in Tunisia by posing topless with the slogan “Fuck Your Morals” written across her chest.

The group's method has been controversial, with some Muslim women even rejecting FEMEN's support by counter protesting that they do not need nude protests and imperialistic approaches to solve their own problems.

Muslim Feminists such as Qasim Amin to Fatima Mernissi have written extensively about the moral dress codes on women and linked it to the the suppression of women by the patriarchal nature of religion.

Activist and writer Arundhathi Roy wrote in an essay for Outlook India last year:

Coercing a woman out of a burqa is not about liberating her, but about unclothing her. Coercing a woman out of a burqa is as bad as coercing her into one.

Daly, a blogger [mal], linked this cultural sensitivity issue as a form of patriarchy itself in a discussion about purdah in a blog post seven years ago:

ബൂര്ഖയെ വെറുമൊരു സാംസ്കാരിക ചിഹ്നം മാത്രമായി ഗ്ലോറിഫൈ ചെയ്യുക. പാത്രിയാര്ക്കിയുടെ എല്ലാ അപ്പസ്തോലന്മാരും ചെയ്യുന്നതത് തന്നെ. എന്നീട്ട് അതിനെ സംരക്ഷിക്കാനെന്നപേരില്, അധിനിവേശത്തിനെത്തിരെ എന്ന പേരില് ഉപയോഗിക്കുക. അങ്ങനെ മനസ്സിലാക്കുമ്പോള് “സംസ്കാരത്തിന്റെ ദുരഭിമാനം സംരക്ഷിക്കാനുള്ള ബാധ്യത സ്ത്രീയ്യ്ക്ക് മാത്രമോ എന്നത് കൂടുതല് കൂടുതല് പ്രസക്തമാവുന്നു. ഒരു തിന്മയെ എതിര്ക്കാന് മാറ്റൊരൂ തിന്മ ഉപയോഒഗിക്കുന്നതിലെ അപഹാസ്യതയും പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെടുന്നു. അധിനിവേശം ഇല്ലാതായാലൂം ഇല്ലാതാകുന്നതല്ലല്ലോ സംസ്കാരിക ദുരഭിമാനം. പറഞ്ഞു വന്നത്, അധിനിവേശത്തിനെതിരെ പോലും ഇത്തരം അടിച്ചമര്ത്തല് തന്ത്രങ്ങള് ഉപയോഗിക്കപ്പെടുന്നതിന്റെ അപഹാസ്യതയാണ്.

Burqa is glorified as a cultural symbol, which is done by the patriarchal systems. After it is glorified it is then said to be used as a tool against imperialism. Then we need to ask, why only a woman’s dress is used a symbol against imperialism and why only women needs to protect this culture. To deflate an evil, another evil is used. Even if the imperialism is done and over with women in burqa still exist.

India Suffers from Bad Governance

Rezwan — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:17:45 +0000

Big government leads to corruption. Corruption leads to bad governance. Bad governance gives rise to mass poverty.

Atanu Dey argues that India is not doomed to be poor due to factors outside its control. It needs good governance.

Documenting Cases Of Discrimination To End Untouchability

Rezwan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:56:17 +0000

Video Volunteers, an international media and human rights NGO, is promoting community videos to document and highlight plights of the marginalized and poor communities around the world. On the 14th of April 2012, Video Volunteers launched the ARTICLE 17 campaign which involved documenting video testimonies of different forms of untouchability by Community Correspondents across the country and taking actions. This 14 April, 2013 marks the first anniversary of the campaign against the discrimination against the so called “untouchables.”

Untouchability is a form of discrimination, the social-religious practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The term is used in India to talk about the public treatment of especially the Dalit communities, who face work and descent-based discrimination at the hands of the dominant Hindu castes.

Girls in a garbage picker colony. They are considered as Untouchables because it is considered that the simple act of touching them brings impurity. They are excluded from the system of Indian castes. Image by Yan Seiler. Copyright Demotix (1/9/2011)

Although untouchability has been made illegal in post-independence India, Dalits and other scheduled castes substantially empowered, prejudice against them are seen in the society, especially in rural areas.

Video Volunteers director Stalin K. provides a background of the campaign to end untouchability:

Ten Years ago, I started on a journey to document practices of untouchability across several states and religions of India. 25,000 kilometres, 9,000 minutes of footage and four years later, I put together a documentary called India Untouched. The main reason for making this film was to challenge the belief of most Indians that untouchability is a thing of the past.

Stalin continues:

Article 17 of the Indian Constitution states that “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.” However, society continues to look at untouchability as a social given, grounded in ‘tradition’. Instead, we should see such practices for what they are: criminal acts.

The documenting initiative started in 2010 (see Global Voices report). The Community Correspondents of Video Volunteers have so far produced a series of 30 videos which documented untouchability practices across the nation. Here are a few examples:

The Untouchable Well: The Dalit community is only allowed to drink water drawn from the one chosen “untouchable” well in the village. Video by Video Volunteers

Untouchability in Shops: Dalits are not allowed to enter shops even if they are paying customers. They have to either throw their money into the hands of the “upper” caste shopkeepers without touching them or leave the money on the floor. Goods touched by Dalits are purified by putting them once through a burning flame. Video by Video Volunteers

Untouchability Captured and Ended on Camera: The video chronicled married Dalit women in the village removing their slippers and holding it in their hands as they crossed an “upper caste” neighborhood. The combined efforts of the Community Correspondent on the ground, the over 5000 people who signed the petition (DM) online and the national zeitgeist created by the TV show, persuaded the DM and the Superintendent police to personally visit the village to conduct a public hearing condemning the practice. The people promised the DM that there will no more complaints from the village. The practice was declared ‘abolished.’ Video by Video Volunteers

You can watch the whole set of videos from this Youtube channel. A petition campaign has started to ask the National Commission for Schedule Castes (NCSC) to take action against the documented violations.

Shekhar comments on the videos at India Unheard Blog:

After watching all these videos, I came to know that my view that the caste system in India is weakened to some extent is wrong and totally a blunder. I am forced to grasp that it is still rampant and deeply rooted.

Here are some Twitter reactions on the untouchability situation in India:

Shraddha Upadhyay (@shraddha48), a blogger from Gwalior tweets:

@shraddha48: Do read a personal experience of untouchability & endless prejudices. “What night is donned upon my nation, lord?” http://t.co/GtZRde1ndz

Community Media (@babasaheb_org) writes:

@babasaheb_org: 84 types of untouchability are being practised in the state even now http://fb.me/1D1WAjT2l

Stalin ends his post with:

It’s time we accepted that the practice of untouchability is not the vestigial remains of some backward, social phenomenon or tradition: it’s a criminal offence. Let’s start calling it what it is.

Raped? Take Money, And Shut Up! Says Indian Police

Chirag Sutar — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:13:50 +0000

Capital city Delhi's police offered the father of a five-year-old survivor of abduction and rape $38 in hush-money to forget the brutal assault, unleashing rage across a country battling with rising rape cases.

The five-year-old was brutally raped in Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar locality over a period of four days allegedly by her neighbor. The girl had gone missing on April 14, and the incident came to light on April 19, 2013.

According to regional language news reports, the family members and neighbors searched for the missing girl on their own for a day, and incidentally the accused neighbor, also pretended to help in this search. Since no leads could be found during that day, a case for missing person was registered with the local police station on April 15, 2013.

Nearly four days while the search was still on, the girls father heard a voice from a room below. Consequently, the police was called and the lock was broken. The girl was found in a deplorable condition and the accused had absconded.

Delhi lawyers protest for justice for the 23 year old student who was gang raped in New Delhi. Image by Louis Dowse. Copyright Demotix (3/1/2013)

The details of this rape, like the December 2012 Delhi-gang rape case (see Global Voices report), are horrific. Medical investigations confirmed that the girl was sexually assaulted – a plastic bottle of oil and a candle was found in the girls stomach.

However, the troubles for the girls family did not stop here – police and governmental apathy followed.

Reports suggest that the girls father was discouraged from filing the complaint, and was offered Rs 2000 (equivalent to 38 dollars) as a price for not going public.

The gravity of the incident and the police and governmental response to it has enraged many.

Shuddhabrata Sengupta at Kafila expresses his rage:

Must Delhi’s police commissioner not be compelled to resign, for his abysmal failure in terms of dealing with sexism and for failing to address the contempt for citizens that is now clearly endemic to the Delhi Police’s work culture?

Can we take this daily routine of insults lying down? How long can this continue?

Vishal Dadlani (@V1SH4L) a musician from India on April 19 tweeted:

@V1SH4L: What on earth is India coming to? The police now offers hush-money to parents whose little daughters are raped!? Those cops need to be hung!

Pritish Nandy (‏@PritishNandy), a journalist from India commented on the well-documented corrupt practices in Indian police force by recalling this :

@PritishNandy: Remember Justice Mulla's famous words: There is no criminal force in India that can compare with the crimes of the Indian police force.

In his another tweet, he reminded about the existing lackadaisical attitude in the Indian administration:

@PritishNandy: Mamta Sharma Chairperson of National Commission for Women says she will only go to see girl child tomorrow as today is a holiday.

A Delhi-based Twitter user (@cyclingsultan) who describes himself as a ‘Hippie Muslim, Sapiosexual, Cyclist and Sybarite’ asserted a rather shocking aspect relating to this story:

@cyclingsultan: The Delhi police told the rape survivor's relatives: ‘They told us that we should be happy the girl has been found & pray for her recovery'.

Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai), an entertainment editor, expressed her dismay at such an attitude:

@MasalaBai: Whom do you go to when your police says ‘be grateful that she (raped child) was found alive'? What is your recourse as a powerless citizen?

To add insult to injury, the girl was treated at an ill-equipped municipal hospital and only moved to a better hospital after much public pressure and protests. The five-year-old girl is reportedly in a very critical condition.

Women have reacted strongly to the gross nature of physical harm done to the girl.

R sheikh Bawazir (@Lucifer_sam666), an architect, educator, and photographer wrote:

@Lucifer_sam666: Kill that bastard, what kind a sick man would insert a 200 ML bottle inside a 5 year old child, I'm beyond tears.

Meanwhile, Arunoday Mukharji (@ArunodayM) [hi], a journalist from India, shared some startling data about rising rape in India:

@ArunodayM: Delhi 2011: 572 cases of rape. 2012: Rape cases increase to 706 and molestation cases rise to 727. Dreading the end of 2013 #Delhirape

Incidentally, post the Delhi-gang rape incident, the Indian government made amendments to the existing rape law, and passed a stronger version.

Taking this into account, an Indian twitter user Kapil (@kapsology) wrote:

@kapsology: Anti-rape law ka achaar daal lo jab police hi aisi hai toh

@kapsology: What use is an anti-rape law if the behavior of police is untrustworthy

A steady out-pour of dismay is being expressed on social media against Indian police and governmental apathy since the incident came to light.

Indian Anti-Corruption Activist May Make Time's Most Influential List

Chirag Sutar — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:26:54 +0000

Five days into his fast in protest of hiked utility prices, Indian anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal was announced as a contender for the 2013 TIME 100 Poll, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Kejriwal's nomination for the list prompted an outpouring of enthusiasm from his supporters.

Kejriwal's fifteen-day fast, which lasted from March 23 to April 6, 2013, was in protest against the unfair rise in electricity and water prices in Delhi. Kejriwal spent his fast in Delhi’s impoverished neighborhood Sundar Nagari, where many of the residents had received electricity bills disproportionate to their actual use.

In late 2012, Kejriwal had launched an anti-corruption political party called Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, or “Party of the Common Man”). During Kejriwal's fast, AAP volunteers collected signatures from people pledging not to pay their inflated electricity bills; by the end of Kejriwal's fast, over one million people had signed AAP's petition. The consensus letters are due to be submitted to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit for the second time on April 28, 2013.

Arvind Kejriwal on the 15th day of his fast in Delhi's Sundar Nagari. Photo: Manish Sisodia, Member Aam Aadmi Party. Used with permission

The activist-turned-politician called this movement “Civil Disobedience.” One of the main purposes of his fast was “to remove fear from the minds of Delhi's citizens”, as many people in India are believed to be afraid of raising their voices against corruption. According to Kejriwal, the unfair rise in electricity prices and the inflated electricity bills were the results of corruption led by a corporate-political nexus.

For many, the impact of Arvind Kejriwal's fast and his recognition by TIME magazine were reflective of his growing influence in India’s political discourse. Those who have been following Kejriwal's past as a social activist emphasized that Kejriwal was not an overnight hero. For instance, one of his significant contributions as an activist was the campaign to establish the Right To Information (RTI) Act in India, which was passed by the Delhi Assembly in 2001 and was eventually passed by the Indian parliament in 2005. Today, the RTI Act is used by many activists in India to keep tabs on corruption in government offices.

The Delhi-area blogger Aditya Pranav highlighted Kejriwal's previous contributions, writing on his blog on April 12:

Some people believe that Arvind Kejriwal has turned into a crusader overnight. It is a must watch video [hi] for them for they would then realize that the movement they are now seeing has been evolving for many years. This was about the taxpayer’s money being looted in the name of various urban developmental activities shown on paper with very little or nothing being done actually. You would see how they went on to organize a first Jan Sunwayi or public hearing of its kind wherein thousands of people including locals, journalists, MLA, Mayor and people from various social organizations gathered.

The 2013 TIME 100 Most Influential poll was open for voting from March 28 to April 12, 2013. During the voting period, the enthusiasm among Kejriwal's social media supporters was noteworthy. According to the poll results, Arvind Kejriwal received 91.51% positive votes. By the end of the TIME 100 voting period, a total of 124,769 people had voted on Arvind Kejriwal, with only 8.49% of the voters rating him as not influential.

Young people appeared more appreciative and fearless in expressing their opinions online. On April 11, Ishwar Kandpal (@ishwarkandpal) [hi], a self-proclaimed supporter of Kejriwal and the AAP, tweeted to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of India:

मुझे गर्व है अरविन्द केजरीवाल ने विश्व भर के चुनिन्दा 100 लोगो में जगह बनाई !

I feel proud that Arvind Kejriwal has made a mark among the 100 most influential people in the world.

On March 28, another AAP supporter, Somu Kumar (@adivasi), opined that voting for Kejriwal was equivalent to voting for anti-corruption in India:

A vote for Arvind Kejriwal in 2013 #TIME100 list is a vote for India's anti-corruption movement. Please vote!

The Indian news media was not spared from criticism: an AAP supporter writing under the name of Bharat Builder (@bharat_builder) chided the Indian media for not recognizing Arvind Kejriwal’s work. He tweeted on April 12:

Listen Indian media, Arvind Kejriwal and decentralization is the idea whose time has come. @Time knows it, you don't!

Anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal took the plunge into electoral politics, promising to give the country a party of the people. Image by Rohit Gautam. Copyright Demotix (2/10/2012)

AAP supporter Jyoti Shankar Jha (@Jyotishankarjha) [hi] was rather sarcastic in calling for those on Twitter to vote for Kejrawal. On April 11, he wrote:

मत देना अरविन्द को वोट TIME के इस पोल में रिश्वत नहीं लेता,एक भी दंगा नहीं करवाया,ना मारपीट करवाई. फिर क्यों दे वोट ?

Please don't vote for Arvind Kejriwal – he doesn't take bribes, he has not participated in a single riot, nor has he ever incited people to be violent.

However, there were some who felt that India, given its population size, could have done far better in supporting Arvind Kejriwal in the TIME 100 poll. Another of Arvind Kejriwal's supporters, Hemant Verma (@hemantverma007), opined:

We are 1250000000 Indians and we don’t have 1250000 vote Arvind Kejriwal

Other bloggers noted that inclusion in the TIME 100 poll is only intended to measure a person's influence. Freak-o-litics, a “political junkie” blogger who discusses Indian politics, wrote in an April 9 post:

One important thing to keep in mind is that these candidates chosen are simply the most influential people in the world but doesn’t necessarily mean in a positive way – as Time clearly points out: Although appearing on the list is frequently mistaken as an honor, these sets of people are recognized for changing the world, for better or for worse.

Interestingly, there have not been many Indian political leaders featured in previous TIME 100 polls. In 2012, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi was one of the hopefuls. However, he attracted more negative votes than positive votes.

The voting for the The 2013 TIME 100 Most Influential poll is now closed, and the final list is expected to be released on April 18, 2013.

This post was proofread in English by Molly Allison-Baker.

India's ‘Paradoxical’ Right To Property

Rezwan — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:43:16 +0000

In a podcast at mylaw.net legal practitioner Namita Wahi talked about the paradox of the fundamental right to property in the Indian Constitution and how to deal with it.

Students of Northeast India Protest Imposition of Hindi Language

Lakshmi Sarah — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:44:42 +0000

In India, language politics have a long history. According to The Economist, the number of languages spoken in India is 438. However, the constitution recognizes only 22 scheduled languages.

Controversy arose as Delhi University has recently made it compulsory for students to study one paper in Hindi or any Modern Indian Language listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution (Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam and Manipuri). Mandatory Hindi or any “Modern Indian language“ (MIL) would be difficult for the students who speak neither Hindi nor any of the modern Indian languages.

Islamabad based Indian journalist Rezaul Hasan Laskar ‏@Rezhasan says on Twitter:

@Rezhasan (Rezaul Hasan Laskar): @rakeshmani Still no reason for folks in North India to impose Hindi on a lot of us who don't speak the language. @MrSamratX

Students protest the imposition of Hindi and Modern Indian Languages, Image courtesy NEFIS Delhi Facebook Page

The North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) organized a protest of around 200 people against the imposition of Hindi/Modern Indian languages upon the students of the North-East. It was reported in the Manipur news and Sanhati:

No one from the administration came out to meet us despite our constant appeal to discuss the issue. We were manhandled by the security outside the office and sexist abuses were hurled at women students.

NEFIS Coordinator Chinglen Khumukcham told Business Standard that the University is ill-equipped to teach the MILs so Hindi would be the automatic choice:

There would be problems even for the communities that speak MILs like Manipuri, Assamese etc because the infrastructure and faculty strength for these languages is too small to be able to cover the whole of university.

The Asian Centre for Human Rights has reportedly filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the introduction of Hindi as a mandatory subject in Delhi University.

The NEFIS has submitted a memorandum to the vice chancellor of DU saying the imposition of Hindi or MILs upon the students of the North-East is unfair as most of these languages are alien to them. Protests on the issue have been held on March 22 and March 25. Khumukcham also said:

This gross neglect of the special needs of the students of the North-East is not a new thing. It is our observation that in the framing of university polices the interests of the students from the North-East is always neglected. It is for this reason that we made this fresh instance of bias an occasion for us to rise above community lines and put forward a united protest to safeguard our common interests.

North Eastern States Of India. Image courtesy NEFIS Delhi Facebook page

A Tamil blog commented:

Its Good to see youth from North-East actively voicing against Hindi imposition… Hopefully youth from various linguistic groups could start networking with each other, towards our common goal of bringing constitutional amendment that no single language is sole official language of union, all 8th Schedule Languages are official language of union and the lethargy of updating 8th schedule list must be condemned and be updated regularly.

Students are now gearing up for additional protests on the 10 of April, according to Time for Change India and the Facebook Page Stop Discriminating People From the North-East India.

Al Jazeera: Amplifying (Global Voices) Women's Voices

Jillian C. York — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:43:22 +0000

Last month, I received an interesting e-mail from my editor, Nasir Khan, at the Opinion page of Al Jazeera English. In the e-mail, Khan explained that while his goal has been to keep a gender ratio of 50/50 on the page, he has often come up short. Therefore, he wrote, he would be working on a project with the sole intention of increasing the output of women contributors:

For the months of February and March, I plan to have a gender ratio of 80/20 in favour of women, flipping the abhorrent ratio that currently exists within the industry … In the process, [we'll be] challenging other outlets to do the same.

Though the initiative failed to attract much mainstream coverage, it quickly spread through social media, and by mid-March Khan was well on his way to fulfilling his goal. Through tweets, e-mails, and Facebook posts, women heard about the initiative and lined up to contribute.

Global Voices women step up

The women of Global Voices were no exception, and by the end of March they had substantially contributed to the Opinion section. This shouldn't be surprising: just last month, a study published by The Guardian showed that Global Voices has a 51% contribution rate from women, consistent over time. The article praised Global Voices for its diversity, noting:

However you slice it, Global Voices publishes a diverse set of voices at all levels of participation, from the most prolific to the most casual.

Global Voices has always sought to bring the voices of bloggers and netizens into the mainstream — today we'll do the opposite, amplifying the voices of nine GV women (of whom we are very proud) that have made it into the mainstream.

Deborah Esch, a Global Voices author and member of the GV Advocacy Steering Committee (as well as a professor of literature), wrote about her experiences gaining open access to a scholarly archive that had previously been locked to the public, helping her come to terms with the death of activist Aaron Swartz. Esch writes:

Along the way, I found that I was no longer in search of an example – in literature, in historiography – a figure to help come to terms with the death of Aaron Swartz. I had my example: had it as an experience, the unexpected experience of open access to a scholarly archive that had till then been locked away from the public behind the monolithic gates of one institution or another.

Esch also published a second piece on the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Two Global Voices ladies: Jillian and Leila at the Arab Bloggers Summit in Tunisia 2011. Photo shared by Jillian C. York on flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Rayna Stamboliyska, a GV contributor, wrote about the importance of “hacking science,” explaining:

A very powerful concept – “citizen science” – has naturally emerged along the lines of open science. Countless professional researchers blog about their work and discuss online results obtained by their peers. Such open discussion permits non-professionals to participate as well. The surge of the hacker/maker/do-it-yourself movement has tremendously contributed to engage non-professional scientists in science.

Nowadays, there are hundreds of projects the world over within which professional and non-professional researchers take part in genuine scientific studies. A clearly visible shift has operated in the recent years from citizens helping merely collect data to citizens actually analysing it, producing valuable results and interpreting them as well as generating new hypotheses.

Leila Nachawati Rego, a Spanish-Syrian contributor and member of the GV Advocacy Steering Committee, wrote of reasons to remain optimistic about Syria. Using the town of Kafranbel as a symbol of hope against tyranny, Nachawati Rego writes:

This northwestern town has become well-known for the powerful and edgy banners. They are being created since the beginning of the uprising and are instantly shared through social media.

Internet users from all over the world look forward to every new message and drawing, which summarise the meaning and the evolution of the Syrian struggle.

Although banners and drawings have captured international attention, Kafranbel is more than that. It is also a model for new forms of self-management emerging from the rubble. Its inhabitants not only have survived several regime bombings, but also have engaged in self-government while rebuilding their own town.

Chan Myae Khine, who writes about Myanmar for Global Voices, analyzed the ongoing conflict between Muslims and Buddhists in her country, explaining:

The background of the latest clash between Muslims and Buddhists, however, is not as clear cut as is reported. Although it is reported to be sectarian in nature, the characteristics of the latest flair of violence are utterly atypical, and at worst, planned. An insecure public, the nature of the extremists and the announcement of a state of emergency are indicative of a regression from the still-ongoing transition towards democracy.

Renata Avila, a transparency advocate and longtime contributor to GV and GV Advocacy, discussed the case of American journalist Nicholas Blake, in which the Guatemalan state was declared responsible for the journalist's disappearance. She writes of her experience:

While I worked as a lawyer for the Guatemalan genocide case, preparing the witnesses who presented their testimonies before Spanish National Courts, I struggled with the lack of information about the Army suspects. Counterinsurgency plans and information of the chain of command were obtained either via whistleblowers or Freedom of Information requests filed in the United States, evidencing the importance of both the freedom of information architecture and whistleblowers as key instruments where not even a Bush or a Kennedy can obtain the truth. Up till now, the Military Archives remain sealed, secret. Key files needed for the cases are reported “missing”.

GV contributor Yoo Eun Lee, who writes about Korea, asked “Who was behind the South Korean cyber-attacks?“, writing:

If the attacks were indeed from North Korea, there is no need to read anything into it. Their message and motive cannot be anymore clear. North Korea has been using all kinds of extreme war rhetoric offline for decades, with statements like “turning the South Korean capital into a sea of fire/blood”. This hacking could be just more blackmailing – only done online.

Although blaming North Korea for the attack provides very convenient and believable explanations – compact enough to fit into saucy headlines – it is completely lazy and misleading.

Kirsten Han, who contributes to GV from Singapore, wrote about the Singaporean government's attempt to increase the country's birth rate, calling some attempts “cringe-worthy at best”:

Young men and women are now being bombarded with “pro-family” messaging, cajoling and coaxing them into getting married and settling down rather than “waiting for all the stars to align”. A married life with children is portrayed as the ultimate desirable outcome, and singles are continually told to get out there and start looking for a spouse…

…it's like constantly being under the gaze of an overzealous aunt, eager to set you up on blind dates with anyone who catches her eye. Young Singaporeans are barely given the time and space to really think about what they want, and with a host of “pro-family” policies – priority in the public housing queue for married couples, parental leave being only applicable to couples who are lawfully married, etc – it sometimes seems like a choice between conforming or working doubly hard. Those who don't fit into the social norm are more or less left out.

In her piece, GV contributor Lakshmi Sarah proposes that the BRIC countries take steps to act responsibly when it comes to women's rights and violence against women:

The BRICs have gained attention since 2001, when the term was initially coined. From 2000 to 2008, the BRICs’ share of GDP rose from 16 to 22 percent. The Times (London) has quoted a financial adviser predicting that by 2050, the BRICs nations will “dominate the globe”. Each BRIC country has its own view of power and responsibility. Each BRIC country also has its own record when it comes to human rights and women's issues.

I contributed my own piece as well, looking at the effectiveness of an activism campaign leading up to Microsoft's recent release of a transparency report:

The campaign could serve as a strong model for future efforts. Unlike popular petition platforms like Change.org and AVAAZ, the letter to Skype used a dedicated website and opened signatures up to both individuals and organisation, adding clout. This helps, as Microsoft is unlikely to be affected by the complaints of individual users.

Continuing the effort

Al Jazeera's Khan hopes that the success of this experiment will lead to greater gender balance in the future. This whole experiences goes to prove that the first step to overcoming gender imbalance is deciding to do something about it. Our community believes strongly in supporting diversity in the media, and we're thrilled for the opportunity to help.

Dear Xenophobic Policeman, Fancy a Drink?

Rezwan — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:11:36 +0000

Blogger Mizohican from Mizoram, India has invited a Mumbai police officer who mistook him for a Nepali and used a xenophobic slur at him for drinks to talk things out.

Can India Win The Fight Against Tuberculosis?

Aparna Ray — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:37:39 +0000

24th March is observed as World Tuberculosis Day and this year, the various stakeholders dedicated to fight tuberculosis – government agencies, the medical community, NGOs and health activists, took time out to take stock of how India was faring in it's fight against the dreaded disease.

With nearly 2.2 million cases each year, India has the highest burden of TB in the world and despite all efforts, the instances of drug-resistant TB is on the rise. On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, the President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, re-emphasized the country's commitment towards achieving “zero TB deaths”. Acknowledging that the challenge ahead remained a difficult one, he said [pdf]:

On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, I commend the important work that has been undertaken by various stakeholders led by the National TB Programme. Since 1998, due to the successful implementation of the DOTS strategy; more than 14.2 million people across India have accessed treatment.

However, it is worrisome that India continues to have the highest burden of TB in the world. One of the greatest challenges facing TB control is the detection and management of drug resistant strains of TB. Such challenges highlight the need for strengthening research and development to urgently introduce new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.

Public image, courtesy Central TB Division, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India.

In its fight to tackle the growing public health threat, the government of India has, in 2012, made two important policy decisions. In a recent email, Kritika Kamthan, program associate at Global Health Strategies (GHS), explained what these policies were about and how they appeared to be faring on the ground. She wrote:

More than half of all TB patients are managed in the private sector in India, where, the quality of care is highly variable, there is rampant use of inappropriate diagnostics and also well documented are examples of over-treatment and the use of irrational drug regimens. The Government of India has recently made two significant policy decisions:

Making TB a notified disease: On May 7, 2012 the Government of India (GoI) declared TB a notified disease. The announcement [pdf] signifies that with immediate effect all private healthcare providers, caregivers and clinics treating a patient suffering from TB will have to report every single case of TB to local authorities – district health officer/chief medical officer of a district and municipal health officer of a municipal corporation, every month. However, the policy does not guarantee medical confidentiality of TB patients. As a result of the stigma associated with TB, it is likely that most of these patients might be forced to go underground and refrain from accessing the healthcare system.

Banning blood tests/serology based tests for TB diagnosis: On June 7, 2012, the GoI banned the manufacture, sale, distribution, use and import of serology based kits for diagnosis of TB. However, these tests are still being widely misused by the private sector despite not being recommended by the RNTCP or any agency.

Despite the recent policy changes, there has been a rise in morbidity, mortality, development of drug-resistance, and an increasing economic burden which is severely hampering India’s ability to prevent and control TB.

Kritika recognized the role played by the media in building awareness and highlighting the issues surrounding the disease. However, she was also quick to point out that much more could be done in this area especially in the digital space. According to her:

The Indian TB landscape has undergone a drastic change since last year. The discussions around the various challenges including the rise of drug resistant TB, TB/HIV co infection, lack of timely and correct diagnosis, over the counter sale of anti-TB drugs and stigma, have been extensively covered in the media. [However] keeping in mind that nearly 1000 people in India succumb to TB every day, the urgency of the situation needs to be given more prominence in the online space as well.

A TB patient under treatment at TB hospital in Amritsar, India. Image by Sanjeev Syal. Copyright Demotix (23/3/2013)

In a guest post on the Science Speaks Blog, Dr. Madhukar Pai, an associate professor of epidemiology at McGill University, Montreal, mentioned that India's fight against TB is at a “critical juncture” and that innovative approaches would be required in order to achieve control and eradication. India's Ministry of Health too, has recognized this and has tried to mark a paradigm shift in the way TB is detected and treated in the country.

On his blog, Healthcare in India, Dr. Vikram Venkateswaran rues the fact that TB has “fallen off the radar of the empowered Indian”, possibly because a) it affects the lower strata of society much more and b) there continues to be social stigma associated with the illness. He points out that

the fight against TB has to be fought on two fronts- Medical front and on the Societal front. On the medical front our doctors and health workers are in action, but it is upto us to Galvanise the society and do what is needed.

India has an ambitious aim. As President Mukherjee pointed out, “India’s vision is to provide ‘Universal Access to Quality Diagnosis and Treatment’ over the next five years to all, regardless of their economic or social status.” In the past, India has successfully combated other public health threats such as polio and small pox. It remains to be seen, how the fight against TB progresses. After all, this is one fight that India cannot afford to lose.

Fixing Water Taps to Save Water In India

Ayesha Saldanha — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:45:04 +0000

Author and painter Aabid Surti may have won awards for his writing and art, but he has also made a mark in another field: water conservation. For the last seven years, the 77-year-old has spent his Sundays going to apartments in Mumbai, and volunteering to fix leaking taps.

The Alternative, a Bangalore-based website seeking to chronicle and support social development in India, is currently running a campaign on sustainable water conservation called Catch Every Drop (#catcheverydrop). At The Alternative, Kirti introduces us to Aabid Surti's work:

The 77-year-old celebrates Sunday like none else, picking a building in Mumbai’s far-flung suburb Mira Road and, with his plumber and a volunteer in tow, searching it for leaking taps to plug. Free of charge. His reward? “A lot of water saved. And sometimes, an offer for lunch,” he says simply. Surti’s non-governmental organisation, Drop Dead, has just one employee – him.

Aabid Surti, from Aalif Surti's blog (CC BY-NC 3.0).

Aabid Surti's son Aalif Surti (@SuperAalif) has told the story of how it all began:

“I read an interview of the former UN chief Boutros Boutros Ghali,” Aabid recalls, “who said that by 2025 more than 40 countries are expected to experience water crisis. I remembered my childhood in a ghetto fighting for each bucket of water. I knew that shortage of water is the end of civilized life.” Around the same time, in 2007, he was sitting in a friend’s house and noticed a leaky tap. It bothered him. When he pointed it out, his friend, like others, dismissed it casually: it was too expensive and inconvenient to call a plumber for such a minor job – even plumbers resisted coming to only replace old gaskets. A few days later, he came across a statistic in the newspaper: a tap that drips once every second wastes a thousand litres of water in a month. That triggered an idea. He would take a plumber from door to door and fix taps for free – one apartment complex every weekend.

Of course there was the issue of covering costs:

As a creative artist, he had earned more goodwill than money and the first challenge was funding. “But,” he says, “if you have a noble thought, nature takes care of it.” Within a few days, he got a message that he was unexpectedly being awarded Rs.1,00,000 ($2,000) by the Hindi Sahitya Sansthan for his contribution to Hindi literature [an award from the government of Uttar Pradesh]. And one Sunday morning in 2007, the International Year of Water, he set out with a plumber to fix the problem for his neighbors. He began by simply replacing old O-ring rubber gaskets with new ones, buying new fixtures from the wholesale market. He named his one-man NGO ‘Drop Dead’ and created a tagline: save every drop… or drop dead. Every Sunday, the Drop Dead team – which consisted of Aabid himself, Riyaaz the plumber and a female volunteer Tejal – picked the apartment blocks, got permission from the housing societies, and got to work. A day before, Tejal would hand out pamphlets explaining their mission and paste posters in elevators and apartment lobbies spreading awareness on the looming water crisis. And by Sunday afternoon, they would ensure the buildings were drip-dry. By the end of the first year, they had visited 1533 homes and fixed around 400 taps. Slowly, the news began to spread.

Not only does the project help save water, it empowers the community:

As Aabid rings another door-bell on yet another Sunday in Mira Road, seven years into his one-man mission, he says: “Anyone can launch a water conservation project in his or her area. That’s the beauty of this concept. It doesn’t require much funding or even an office. And most importantly, it puts the power back in our own hands.”

Pappu (@bhanchik) praises Abid's efforts on Twitter:

@bhanchik: Heads bow down for Mr Aabid Surti for his one man mission to preserve water in these trying times when 11 districts are drought hit.Wakeup.

Now Aabid Surti would like similar initiatives to be started in others parts of India, so that as much water as possible is saved.